The present invention relates to laser resonators. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for forming a laser resonator so that optical components of the laser resonator are aligned and attached to a laser resonator housing or optical bed without using a mechanical mount for each optical component.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional laser resonator 10 with a housing cover removed to illustrate the problems in forming such a conventional laser resonator. As shown in FIG. 1, optical components (e.g., rear mirror 12, wave plate 14 and Risley prism pairs 16a-16b, laser pump cavity, lamp, and rod unit 18, q-switch 20, optical parametric oscillator (OPO) mirror 22, OPO crystal 24, and output mirror 26) of a conventional laser resonator 10 are typically mounted to an optical bed 28 using adjustable mechanical mounts 30a-30i. Each mechanical mount 30a-30i is typically screwed to the optical bed 28 and has one or more adjustable screws to align the respective optical component contained by the mechanical mount relative to an optical path through the laser resonator 10. When the optical components are aligned via the mechanical mounts 30a-30i, the optical bed 28 is then attached to a housing (not shown in FIG. 1) for the laser resonator 10. The mechanical mounts 30a-30i occupy space on the optical bed 28 and within the laser resonator 10 housing, limiting the miniaturization of the laser resonator 10, increasing component costs, and increasing cost to manufacture. Implementing the laser resonator 10 using an optical bed 28 also increases component and manufacturing costs.
There is therefore a need for a method for forming a laser resonator that overcomes the problems noted above and enables optical components of the laser resonator to be aligned and mounted to a housing or optical bed without employing a mechanical mount for each optical component.